Fender for automobiles and other vehicles.



A. M. KENNEDY.

FENDER FOR AUTOMOBILES AND OTHER VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 19. I914.

hmfi ww Patented July 27, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- WITNESSES W I I INVENTITR W, M?

ATTORNEYS COLUMBIA ILANDGRAPH c0., WASHINGTON D c.

A. M. KENNEDY.

FENDER FOR AUTOMOBILES AND OTHER VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-19,1914.

Patented July 27, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES ARTHUR IVL KENNEDY, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

FENDER FOR AUTOMOBILES AND OTHER VEHICLES.

Original application filed July 5, 1913, Serial No. 777,425.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 27, 1915.

Divided and this application filed February 19',

1914. Serial No. 819,686.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR M. KENNEDY, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Fender for Automobiles and other Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

The present application is a division'of my co-pending application for a fender for automobiles and other vehicles, filed July 5th, 1913, Serial No. 777,425.

My present invention relates to a fender designed to be employed in conjunction with any desired type of vehicles, and is especially designed to be employed in conjunction with automobiles.

As is well known, it is almost an every day occurrence for persons to be more or less seriously injured bv being run into by automobiles, and as ordinarily constructed, no provision is made for preventing injury to a person who is knocked down or run into by the automobile or other moving ve hicle.

Among the numerous requirements which are essential to the satisfactory working of a device of this character, attention is directed to the following which arise in the practical operation of the fender. The fender should be supported in such a manner that its operation will be under the control of the operator and will operate at a high speed, since otherwise the speed at which the automobile is traveling might prevent the lowering of the fender in time to accomplish its function. It is also essential I that the fender shall be supported, when in normal position, a sufficient distance above the road so that the same will not be injured by contact with road obstructions. It is also advantageous to construct the fender so that portions thereof may be readily removed to inspect the working mechanism or to crank the car in case the same is not provided with a self-starter. It

is also essential that the fender will protect;

vide a construction which, at the will of fender to its normal position.

It further consists in a novel construction of a fender wherein a portion thereof is constructed in such a manner as to render the parts inwardly thereof readily accessible for the purpose of inspection or repairs.

It further consists in other novel features of construction, all as will be hereinafter fully set forth. a e

For the purpose of illustrating my invention, I have shown in the accompanying drawings one form thereof which is at present preferred by me, since the same has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to beunder stood that the various instrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that'my invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of these instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

Figure 1 represents a perspective View of a portion of an automobile having a fender embodying my invention, in assembled position with respect thereto. Fig. 2 represents a sectional elevation of a portion of the operating mechanism. Fig. 3 represents a sectional. elevation of a portion'of the fender, showing more clearly the spring construction. Figs. 4, 5 and 6 representrespectively, on an enlarged scale, certain details of theconstruction. Fig. 7 represents a front elevation of the fender, certain parts thereof having been removed for sake of cl'earness of illustration. Fig. 8 represents a sectional elevation of a portion of a vehicle showing more clearly the construction'of my fender. Figs. 9 and 10 repre sent respectively, sectional views of details of construction.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the figures.

Referring to the drawings: 1 designates the frame of an automobile or other vehicle in conjunction with which my novel fender is employed.

2 designates a lever provided with a foot receiving portion 3 and a rod 4, which latter extends to the brake on the rear axle of the vehicle, it being understood that the said lever 2 is pivoted at 5 to a bracket 6 carried by the frame 1.

9 designates a pedal-bar having a portion 10 adapted to receive the heel of the driver, said pedal-bar being provided with a slot 11, through which a bolt 12 passes, which is provided with a washer and nut 13, whereby the lever 2 may be moved independently of the pedal-bar 9. The forward end of the pedal-bar 9 is laterally deflected, as at 14, and is provided with a set screw 15 which may be locked in position by a lock nut 16. Mounted in thepath of the screw 15 is a lever 17-, which is pivoted at 18 to the frame 1, said lever 17 having pivoted thereto one end of a rod 19, the other end of said rod having connectedtherewith, by means of a fastening device 20, an arm 21. The forwardly bent end of said arm 21 is pivoted to a rock-arm 22 as seen in Fig. 7, fixed on a shaft 23 by means of a fastening device 24. A desired number of hooks or catches 25 are mounted on the shaft 23. The rod 19- passes through a bracket 26 and is provided with a pin 27, adapted to contact with a portion of said bracket to limit the forward movement ofthe rod 19. In order to maintain the rod 19in its normal position, a spring 28 is provided interposed between said pin 27 andan arm 29 on said bracket, it being noted that the bracket 26 is secured in any desired manner to the front axle 30 of the vehicle. V

31 designates ,bars secured in any desired manner to the front'axle' 30, said bars and axle being shown for purposes of illustra tion as consisting of I-beams. The shaft 23 is journaled in the bars 31.

v32 designates sleeves which are provided with flanges 33, seen in Fig. 7, which latter are secured in. any desired manner to the forwardly extending bars 31,.

,34 1designates rear fender rods, which are adapted to telescope into the sleeves 32, and

. betweenvthe bottom of the sleeve 32 and the forwardly extending base portions 35 of the fender are interposed the springs 36. As will be best seen from Fig. 4, the rods 34 are connected at'their upper, ends with a crossbar 37,- and in order to eliminate in a large measure any shock or noise, the sleeves 32 arerecessed attheir upper end, as'indicated at 38-, thereby adapting the same to receive an elastic bumper, such as the rubber tubing 39. The base-portions of the fender, which are sectional and horizontally and yieldingly telescoping, as will later be described in detail, are connected at their forward ends with a front bar 40 and bars 41 angularly inclined with respect thereto and connected with the cross-bar 37. The bottom bars or rods 35 are provided with the members 42, with which the hooks 25 engage to maintain the fender in its normal position.

It will now be understood that the fender frame includes the upper cross-bar 37, the lower cross-bar 40, the bottom bars 35, four of which are shown in the present instance, and the perpendicularly extending bars 34. The two intermediate bars 34 are provided with the springs 36. The fender proper, that is the resilient portion, consists of end portions 43 and 44 and a central portion 45, said central portion being removable and said end portions being fixed. The end portions each comprise an upper rod 46 secured to the upper cross-bar 37 by the rings 47.

48 designates the lower rod connected to the lower cross-bar 40 by rings 49. The construction of the spring elements will be best understood by reference to Fig. 3, from which it will be seen that a headed rod 50 is provided passing through an upper rod and having its ends extending into a coiled spring element 51 and then rearwardly deflected, as at 52.

53 designates a rod having its end extending into the spring element 51 and then rearwardly deflected, as at 54. The lower ends of said rod 53 are rearwardly deflected as at 55, around a transverse rod or bolt 56, which is provided with a nut 57, whereby the upper and lower spring elements are assembled with respect to the upper and lower rods 46 and 48 respectively.

58 designates springs carried by the headed rod 56 whereby the upper and lower spring elements are maintained in proper alinement.

The central removable section 4-5 comprises the lower rods 59, which are provided with pins 60, adapted to fit into the apertured flanges 6']. of the rings 62 carried by the bottom cross-bar 40. The lower crossbar is connected with spring elements, similar in construction to those just described, so that a detailed description thereof is unnecessary and would be needless repetition, it being simply necessary to state that the upper cross-rod. 63 is connected with the collars 64 mounted on the upper cross-bar 37 by means of pins 65, as will be understood by reference to Fig. 7. It will thus be seen that if it is desired to crank the engine, it is simply necessary to spring the pins 60 out of the apertures of the flanges 61 and swing the central portion 45 of the fender upwardly, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 8. The rings 62 may be fixed with respect to the lower cross-bar 410 in any desired manner, and in Fig. 6, I have shown this as being accomplished by means of a pin 66. It will be understood that the rods 67 are connected with the rods 56 and are connected with a spring element 68 similar to the spring element 51, said spring element 68 being connected by means of a rod 69, with a lower cross-bar 18. The upper cross-bar 37 has fixed thereto a plurality of brackets 70, which are apertured, as at 71, to receive a rod 72, carried by a toggle 78, said toggle lever 73 having one end thereof connected with a cross-bar 74 carried by the bars 31, while the other end of said toggle lever is connected with a link 75 having a slot 7 6, into which extends a pin 77 fixed to the bar 74. The link 75 is pivoted to a link 78, which latter is eccentrically connected. with a disk 79, mounted on a shaft 80.

81 designates a link separately connected with the disk 79 and with a link 82, which is slotted, as at 83.

84 designates a pin carried by the bar '71 and extending into the slot 83. The link 82 is also connected with one end of the toggle lever at the opposite end of the fender, as seen at 85. The other end of the toggle lever at the end of the fender just referred to, is pivoted at 86 to the bar 74.

It will be seen from the above that the toggle levers 78 are simultaneously actuated and may be controlled by the shaft 80. The shaft 80 is mounted in brackets87 and is provided with a pinion 88, which is adapted to intermesh with a quadrant 89 carried by the shaft 90, to which is connected a manually actuated lever 91. The fender is preferably provided with a desired number of rollers 92, in order to reduce the friction when the fender is in close proximity to the ground.

The operation of my novel fender will now be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains, and is as follows: The driver, by placing the ball of his foot on the foot receiving portion 3, and his heel on 10, can actuate the brake, as desired, without operating the fender. If, however, he desires to operate the fender, the latter can be operated simultaneously with or independently of the brake, as desired, since it is only necessary to press with the heel of his shoe on the pedal-bar 9, whereupon the forward end thereof, which consists of the set screw 15, will contact with the lever 17, thereby causing the same to move in the direction of the arrow seen in Fig. 8. This will cause the rod 19 to move rearwardly against the tension of the spring 28 and owing to the provision of the link 21 and the rock-arm 22, the shaft 23 will be rocked and thereby cause the hooks 25 to become disengaged from the brackets or catches 12. When the fender is released in this manner, the springs 36, in addition to the weight of the fender, cause the latter to move down wardly into contact with the road, so that the rollers 92 travel along the road surface and since the lower cross-bar 410 is in close proximity to the ground, any object or person in the path of the fender will be received thereon without injury. lVhen it is desired to return the fender to its normal position, it is simply necessary to manually move the lever 91 in the direction of the arrow seen in Fig. 8, thereby causing the shaft 80 to rotate and actuate the toggle levers which will cause the fender to be raised into such a position that the hooks 25 will engage with the brackets 4-52, the ends of which are reversely curved, as seen in Fig. 8.

It will be apparent that the stroke of the pedal-bar 9 may be varied, as desired, by the proper adjustment of the lock nuts 16 and the screw 15. It will also be apparent that I have devised a simple and economical construction, which is not liable to get out of order and which can be actuated at the will of the operator. ll preferably provide a buffer 7 mounted on the front bar 10 and provided with arms 8, to which are connected springs 94, the other ends being connected to clamps 95 on the bars 11, the

latter being preferably sectional and hinged together at 96. The base portions 35 are preferably sectional, one section being provided with the rod 97 telescoping in the other section and with which coacts a tension device 98. A. resilient buffer is thus provided.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction of a fender for automobiles and other vehicles, which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention and the above description, and while I have, in the present instance, shown and described a preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a device of the character stated, an expansible and contractible fender mounted to be lowered and raised toward and from the roadbed, means for guiding the fender in its rising and falling movements, means to maintain the fender in raised position, releasing devices for said fender, a plurality of levers movably connected with said fender and with each other so as to be simultaneously operated, and means to actuate said levers.

2. In a device of the character stated, a frame mounted for movement, a fender interlocked with said frame and comprising series of spring elements, one of said series being removable from the frame, a plurality of levers, each having their upper ends adapted to engage the frame, and each having one of their lower ends fixedly supported and the other end movable, eccentrics connected with said movable ends, manually controlled means connected with said eccentrics, devices for retaining said fender in raised position, and means to release said devices.

8. In a device of the character stated, a frame mounted for movement, a fender interlocked with said frame and comprising series of spring elements, one of said series being removable from the frame, a plurality of levers, each having their upper ends adapted to engage the frame, and each having one of their lower ends fixedly supported and the other end movable, eccentrics connected with said movable ends, a bar connected with said eccentrics and mounted for limited longitudinal movement, manually controlled means connected with one of said eccentrics, means to lock said fender in raised position, and releasing devices for said locking means.

4. In a device of the character stated, a frame, a support therefor, means to secure said frame in raised position, releasing devices for said means, upper and lower crossrods carried by said frame, springs connected with rods, intermediate rods connected with said springs, a laterally extendfender, a support therefor, apertured brack- 5 ets secured to said fender, a plurality of toggle levers having means to move into the apertures of said brackets, means to simultaneously actuate said toggle levers to raise the fender, means to lock said fender in raised position, and releasing devices for said locking means.

6. In a device of the character stated, a frame comprising extensible and contractible vertical members, extensible and contractible base end-members, extensible and contractible oblique side-members, transverse members connecting said vertical and oblique members, a movably mounted buffer carried by the transverse members, means connected 00 to said members to extend the same, and means for manually actuating the extending means.

7. In a device of the character stated, a

frame comprising extensible and contractible vertical members, extensible and contractible base end-members, extensible, e011- tractible oblique side-members and transverse members connecting said vertical and oblique members, toggle-members connected [0 to said members to extend the same, and means for manually actuating such togglemembers.

ARTHUR M. KENNEDY.

Witnesses:

FREDERICK H. CUMMING, SARAH E. MGWHINNIE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained forfive' cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C. 

